Hashimoto Heihachi and Kitasono Katue

7 August to 11 October 2010

Hours: 9:30a.m.- 5:00 p.m.
Entry is permitted thirty minutes before the galleries are closed.
Closed: Closed on Mondays (except 20 September and 11 October), and 21 September

Admission:
Adults: 900 (700) Yen
Students (College or senior high): 700 (500) Yen
Students (elementary or junior high school): 400 (300) Yen
(Conｃession for groups or advanced tickets)

Hashimoto Heihachi (1897-1935), born in Ise, Mie Prefecture, is known as a wood sculptor. He went to Tokyo in 1919, and the following year became a pupil of Sato Chozan (1888-1963), a member of the Japan Art Institute. In 1922, his sculpture Cat was accepted for the 9th In-ten exhibition, and he started his career as a sculptor. In 1926, he returned to his home town in Mie, settling there permanently. He studied ancient Buddhist sculpture from the 8th-century in Nara, and he was also deeply impressed with the 17th-century Buddhist statues by the monk Enku.

He learned religion, philosophy and both Eastern and Western ideas, and produced wooden sculptures including something supernatural in trees, like About a Stone and Celestial Nymph Playing in the Flower Garden.

His younger brother, Kitasono Katue (birthname: Hashimoto Kenkichi, 1902-1978)is renowned as a modernist poet. After settling in Tokyo in 1920, he started writing and helped introduce Dadaism and Surrealism to Japan. He published his poems in avant-garde reviews such as 'GE GJMGJGAM PRRR GJMGEM'.

His activity covered not only poetry but short stories, haiku and art criticism. Moreover, he painted, edited various literary reviews, and designed dozen of books. Also he explored photography as a new means of poetry and called it 'Plastic Poetry'. He started the review 'VOU' in 1935, which continued publication until he died in 1978.

Although their creative activities took different directions, the Hashimoto brothers admired each other's work, which was deeply influenced and molded by their exchange of ideas.

This exhibition presents the entire spectrum of Hashimoto Heihachi's sculptures and paintings consisting of approximately 100 pieces, and of Kitasono Katue's diverse creative work, taken mainly from the collection of John Solt, a scholar living in Los Angeles who has written on Kitasono and has translated his poetry.